How to nail your webinar welcome speech

An unfocused, long-winded presentation introduction could chase someone off before you’ve even gotten the webinar started. When an attendee leaves a webinar early, it puts a dent in the presenter’s confidence. 

To make an immediate splash and connect with your audience, presenters need strong but short opening remarks. You should hook the audience with compelling storytelling and set expectations from the get-go — and a succinct, engaging webinar welcome speech can help them do just that.

But what exactly makes a perfect webinar welcome speech? Here’s where to start: 

• It’s short: We recommend a webinar “welcome” between 60 seconds and three minutes.  
• It’s approachable: Find the line between being prepared and keeping things loose enough to engage your audience naturally.
• It gamifies your webinar experience: Share why attendees should stick through to the end.
  • Do they get exclusive access to information or content? 
  • A free trial of your product? 
  • A credit for a service that’s only unlocked by staying to the end?

In this guide, we’ll break down how to write a welcome speech and walk you through the essential parts of creating the perfect webinar script.

5 elements of the perfect webinar welcome speech

Before writing a welcome address for a webinar, you’ll need to divide your intro into a few important sections.

We’ve broken down the steps below to help guide you through the process.

1. Start with a greeting and thank attendees for their time

When greeting your webinar attendees, remember that your team members work across regions, time zones, and even countries. Make sure to use a greeting that isn’t time-sensitive (e.g., “good morning”) and keep it succinct. “Hello and welcome” is always a safe choice. 

After greeting them, thank attendees for their time upfront – don’t wait until the end. Make sure they feel valued by sharing some appreciation, but keep it simple and sincere. And set initial expectations by sharing how long your webinar presentation will last.

✅ Example:

“Hello and welcome to our [type of event]. In this 45-minute webinar, we hope you learn [list a few key takeaways]. Thank you for taking the time to join us today.”

💡 Pro tip: Include the “how” in your webinar introduction

German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus says people forget most of what they learn within an hour. And according to Ebbinghaus’s “Forgetting Curve,” humans typically forget around 75% of what they’ve learned within two days. 

One way to improve attendees’ memory is to explain how what they’re going to learn will benefit them. If the reason is clear, their brains will prioritize the information.

2. Preview the topic

After thanking your audience, give a brief overview of the topic so you can continue explaining to them why the webinar is worth their time (even more on this later).

Sharing a cheat sheet, workbook, or template at the end of the event? Now’s the time you share that, as well. Nothing hooks people like free goodies. Be clear about what your audience can expect and any takeaways they’ll receive:

“We’ll cover X, so you can learn Y. We’ve also got a free cheat sheet for you at the end of the session, so stay tuned to learn more.”

✅ Example:

“In this masterclass, we’ll share six secret copywriting tips to write better ads with higher conversion rates. Whether you’re a blogger, entrepreneur, business owner, or another digital marketing professional, you’ll leave feeling ridiculously confident about making money from online business advertising. And with our free copywriting cheat sheet at the end — stay tuned for that one — you can start moving customers through your sales funnel today.”

When previewing your topic, keep the focus on attendee benefits and don’t go into too much detail about the webinar content or host yet.

💡 Pro tip: Use power words to stir emotion

Some examples of power words include:

• Free
• Secret
• High-converting
• Ridiculously
• Surprise

You can boost your audience’s interest further by calling your webinar a “masterclass” or “seminar.” The word “presentation” sounds too formal, and “webinar” is used often, so consider a different distinction.

3. Handle housekeeping thoroughly but briefly

You’ve shared the topic and have set some expectations — now it’s time to let people know how they can participate in your webinar. 

A recent HubSpot survey asked participants which element they’d most like to see covered in a webinar, and the most popular response — at 22% — is “A host or presenter that takes questions from the audience.” Talk to your attendees about polls, chat, and other features you’ve planned for audience engagement.

✅ Example:

“To make sure we’re helping you as best as we can on [topic], we have a chat box to collect your questions. We’ll also have [share engagement tactics, such as polls or social media tags].”

It’s better to show, not tell, at this point, though. Some ways to do so:

• Explain exactly where they can find the chat box in the webinar software tools (e.g., “On the right of your screen is a …”).
• Show an annotated screenshot with the chat box circled in red, so people can spot it on their own screens.

Then spell out how people can engage and when you’ll be responding to them:

“Feel free to drop questions on the topic or share your struggles and experiences. We’ll answer your questions by the end of each guest session.”

“The moderator will collect the most upvoted questions so we can answer them for you at the end of the presentation.”

Go on to extend help: “If you have any questions at this point, feel free to drop them in the chat box below.”

💡 Pro tip: Where/how will you share the webinar?

This is also an important time to share whether the webinar recording will be available later. If you also plan to share the presentation deck or any other materials, be sure to communicate that as well so attendees know how to access and use them.

4. Introduce your speakers

Ideally, it makes sense to tell people who they’re watching on their screens as you welcome them in the beginning.

But you don’t want to go into the details of your experience if you’re also the speaker. The reason? Attendees will forget about your expertise if you dig into housekeeping after introducing yourself. So you’ll need to reintroduce yourself and other guests or topical mentors (if there are any), which will stretch your webinar welcome speech.

So a good, natural move is to throw in your one-line introduction at the start and share more about your expertise later on. However, it does depend on your role (moderator vs. host vs. speaker).

When sharing your experience as a speaker, add a pinch of storytelling to your introduction. But remember to keep it short. Try this three-step storytelling formula:

• Hook attendees by asking a question or sharing unexpected challenges.
• Appeal to attendees’ emotions by building on the struggle.
• Close with how you solved the problem (including the results you delivered) or some quick, memorable insights.

Now let’s talk about how to introduce guests. Aim to keep it natural. Rehearse so you don’t have to read it from your script.

Share each guest’s name, background, and experience. It’s best to include guests’ expertise by sharing the results they’ve driven.

✅ Example: 

“Shane has written ads that have driven $6 million in revenue for their clients.” This shows why a guest is the best person they can learn from on the topic.

💡 Pro tip: Keep it brief

Don’t take long with guest introductions and thanking sponsors. Instead of orating their entire history, choose specifics from their experience that are relevant to the webinar topic.

5. Reiterate the value of the event and get started

Note that throughout the introduction, you’ve shared reasons for attendees to stay. The topic, guest list, and takeaway all do this job.

The last step in creating the best webinar welcome speech is to reiterate the topic for a quick refresh and to capture the attention of those joining in late.

Again, keep it short and try not to repeat yourself, even though you’ve discussed the topic. At this point, talk about the agenda. According to HubSpot, 30% of webinar participants want to attend a presentation that teaches them how to do a specific task — so make sure you’re letting them know what they can expect to learn.

✅ Example: 

“Our guests today will teach you how to live stream like a pro. So next time you run your live session, you’ll be a lot more confident.” Then mention the areas you’ll cover.

💡 Pro tip: Summarize in 3 main points

In your closing technique, when you talk about the areas you’ll cover, keep it to three points, so attendees don’t forget what the session will include.

Your webinar welcome speech template

If you’re looking to craft the perfect webinar welcome speech, save time with a template. But remember to write it out step-by-step, practice, and put your own spin on it before going live!

Webinar speech element: Welcome

“Hello and welcome. I’m your host and speaker/moderator, [name]. Thank you for taking the time to join us today as we talk about [topic].

Webinar speech element: Benefits

You’ll leave with [share benefits of learning topic — best limited to three benefits]. We’ve also got a free [takeaway type] for you at the end of the session, so stay tuned to learn more about it.

Webinar speech element: Engagement tools explanation

And, to make sure we’re helping you as best as we can on [topic], we have a chat box where you can submit your questions. We’ll also have [engagement tools, such as polls] to share with you.

Webinar speech element: Q&A

Feel free to drop questions on the topic or share your struggles and experiences. We’ll answer your questions by the end of each guest session (or, “The moderator will collect the most upvoted questions so we can answer them for you at the end of the presentation”).

Webinar speech element: Recording access 

Also, don’t worry about taking notes — we will send the session’s recording and training video via email within [specify time].

Webinar speech element: Intro guest speakers

So without further ado, let me introduce you to the pros who will talk about [reiterate topic].

• Our first speaker is [name] from [topical credentials] (then two to three lines about topical results the speaker has driven).
• Our second speaker is … (repeat the speaker intros as needed).

Webinar speech element: Agenda items

Today, these guests will teach you how to [topic] so [benefit]. 

• One thing we’ll dive into is [agenda item #1]. (1 line)
• Then, [agenda item #2]. (1 line)
• And finally, [agenda item #3]. (1 line)

Webinar speech element: Wrap-up

Ready? Let’s get started! Here’s [first speaker].

Webinar script FAQs

And to wrap things up, let’s answer some final questions on successful webinar introductions:

Go live with your next webinar

Originally published on November 1, 2021. Updated on May 5, 2023.